Willing and Ready
by Alexandri
Summary: Zacharias checks up on Katie on a very difficult day for her. He never expects the circumstances might turn in his favor. Originally written in 2010.


**Title:** Willing and Ready

**Pairing:** Katie/Zacharias

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** Zacharias checks up on Katie on a very difficult day for her. He never expects the circumstances might turn in his favor.

**Word Count:** 2,394

**Author's notes:** Written for wizard_love on LiveJournal in 2010.

Zacharias Smith paused outside of Katie Bell's house. There were many reasons to turn around, go home and pretend that he'd never let his impulses get so far away from him. There was the fact that he was uninvited and unexpected, for starters. Zacharias himself disliked it when people—family, friends, colleagues, associates, random salespeople—dropped in on him unannounced. He couldn't imagine Katie would appreciate it any more than he would.

There was the possibility that she already had company. Katie was warm and kind and funny. She was the sort of woman other people flocked to. Surely someone had come to see her today of all days. His company might not be needed and he'd hate it if she invited him in to be polite or, worse, asked if she could see him some other time.

On the other hand, she could want to be left alone. Perhaps she was perfectly fine and his unsolicited visit would be an unnecessary and cruel reminder. Katie could simply see him as an acquaintance that she was fine with seeing occasionally. After all, it had been over two months since they'd last seen each other. Of course, that could mean nothing. The holidays were a busy time for most people and it's not as if they'd known each other for long, only a year and a half.

She could be on a date.

She could…

Groaning and shaking his head at his own ridiculousness, Zacharias took a calming breath, knocked on her front door and hoped for the best. After a moment of silence and the briefest panic attack known to man, Zacharias heard footsteps on the other side of the door.

"Yes?" a soft voice eventually called.

"Katie?" he replied. "It's Zacharias Smith."

The door opened and a disheveled Katie stood blinking at him in surprise. He gaped back at her. She clearly hadn't showered or combed her hair and he suspected she hadn't brushed her teeth either. Her pajamas were rumbled and frumpy, a blue and red plaid flannel set that he imagined most women wouldn't be caught dead in. Worse, her eyes were puffy and red and he couldn't tell if she was tired or if she'd spent the day in tears.

"Er, did I know you were coming?" she asked.

He cursed himself; he knew he shouldn't have just shown up. "No," he admitted. "I just wanted to check up on you. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh! That's…that's sweet of you," she said with a distracted chuckle before stepping back and opening the door wider. "Come in."

"Are you sure I'm not disturbing…"

"Oh, no, no," she protested. "Please."

Uncertain, Zacharias did as she asked. Thankfully, the living room was mostly tidy. There weren't any wads of damp tissue littering the tables and floors, just a bowl with abandoned, unpopped kernels of corn. "I brought you some food," he announced, turning back to her.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know," he said with a shrug. "I just thought today would be difficult. The least I can do is make sure you eat some real food."

Katie shook her head in disbelief. "Thanks. That's…I appreciate that."

"Well, er, I'll just put this in the kitchen and leave you to it…"

"Actually, why don't you stay? It's long past time I cleaned up and some company would be nice." She smiled sheepishly. "There is enough for two, isn't there?"

"Yes."

"Great," she exclaimed. "The kitchen's behind you and it won't take me long to make myself presentable. What do you say?"

Though Zacharias had hoped that she'd want him to stay, he hadn't really thought she would since they didn't know each other _that_ well. "All right."

"Then I'll be right back," she said with a sharp nod and headed towards her bedroom.

He stared after her for a long moment before heading to the kitchen. In the time it took Katie to clean up—which was only about thirty minutes; he was impressed—Zacharias had cleaned the popcorn bowl, unpack all of the food, heated it up, prepared two plates, poured two glasses of wine, put the flowers he'd brought in a pitcher of water, and placed it all on the dining table.

"Wow," she breathed as she rejoined him. She'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail and changed into an old pair of denims and a red pullover. "I didn't expect all this. Are those flowers?"

"Guilty."

She laughed and buried her nose in the bouquet. "I can't remember the last time anyone's bought me flowers."

"Yes, well…"

"I am famished," she announced, plopping into a chair before he could pull it out for her. "Let's eat."

Zacharias followed suit and sat. In no time, Katie had eaten half of her lasagna. She began peppering him with questions: how were the holidays, how was his family, how was work. He answered the innocuous questions, smoothly sliding his untouched meal toward her when she'd finished her serving.

"Feel better?" he asked when she finally laid down her fork and sighed contentedly.

"Yes."

"My turn, then."

"For?"

"Questions such as where is everybody?"

"What do you mean?"

Zacharias shot her an exasperated look. "You know exactly what I mean. Your very public, very ugly divorce from Marcus Flint was finalized a year ago today. Why isn't anyone here? I know it's been difficult for you, so where is everyone?"

"I asked them not to come."

"Why?"

Sighing, Katie stood, took Zacharias' hand, led him to the sofa, and settled next to him. She didn't let go of his hand. "I've spent the last year trying to get over feeling like a failure. Sometimes that's really hard to do when everyone treats you like you're some delicate flower."

Zacharias flushed. He supposed he was just as guilty. After all, he'd come over today to make sure she was okay.

She chuckled ruefully, her eyes on their clasped hands. "I suppose I can't blame anyone. I've been looking like a delicate flower for months while Marcus jaunts about Britain with his new wife."

"You still love him." Zacharias wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement. He wasn't surprised to find that he really wanted to know the answer.

Katie's brow creased as she mulled over the question. "Not the way I used to," she said finally. "I mean, I still love the man I married, but Marcus isn't that man anymore. I guess you could say I love my memories of us."

"That's understandable."

"Yeah, but that's over and life goes on. His has. It's time I move on, too." She perked up, flashing him a smile. "That's why I've spent the weekend packing. I'm sending him the last of his things. There are only a few mementos I want from our marriage. He can have everything else, including this house."

Zacharias was shocked. He'd been her solicitor during the divorce—that's how they'd met—and she'd been adamant about getting the house. Now she was giving it back to him?

"If I'm going to make a fresh start, I need to let go of the past and look to the future." She squeezed his hand and locked her gaze with his. "I need to take advantage of the opportunities in front of me."

He stilled. She couldn't possibly have meant that the way it sounded. "What are you saying?"

She leaned toward him, her eyes fluttering closed. Zacharias swallowed. As much as he wanted to kiss her, he wasn't convinced that doing so wouldn't make him an opportunistic prat. Instead of kissing him, Katie laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled into his side. "I'm saying I'm glad you came over. Meeting you was the only good thing to come out of this whole debacle."

Her hair smelled like cinnamon and she was warm and soft in all the right ways. "You know."

"Hmm?" she asked.

She was going to make him say it. It was almost funny. He could have laughed. Instead, he closed his eyes and released the breath he hadn't released he was holding. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"I suspected."

"Of course," he muttered. "I won't be your rebound man."

"No," she agreed, shifting so that she was looking up at him. "You mostly certainly will not."

"Not attracted?" he asked without looking down at her then cursed himself.

Katie chuckled quietly. She ran her free hand through his soft, blond hair. "Hardly. You are a very handsome man, Zach. I bet if you smiled more often, you'd have to hex women away from you. No, I'd like you to stay around awhile, so no rebounding with you."

Her breath brushed over his jaw as she spoke. The sensation raced through his body, leaving him momentarily breathless. Being near this woman was too much of a pleasurable torment to be borne. "What do you want from me?"

"Do you know why I'm glad you came over today?" she replied, completely ignoring his question.

"No."

"Because as much as I love my family and friends, their clucking and fussing just made the whole divorce ordeal worse. You were the only one who made me feel...steady and secure."

Sighing, Zacharias looked down at her. She was so close and so beautiful and so very unattainable. "What do you want from me, Katie?"

"Something I have no right to ask for."

"What?" he demanded.

She closed her eyes as if she couldn't bear to see the confusion and distress on his face. "I want you to wait for me," she admitted finally. "I'm happy when I'm with you, Zach. When we're together, I feel more like the person I used to be before I became a shameful divorcée. But it's more than that, Zach. I...I want you because I care about you. I just don't think I'm ready to be with anyone yet and I don't want to risk losing whatever this is between us before it even starts."

He didn't know what to say. It didn't match his earlier declaration of love, but she was clearly interested in him. She was right about not having the right to ask him to wait. There was no way to guess how long it would take before she was ready for a real relationship with a new man and Zacharias wouldn't settle for anything less than the real thing. But the truth of the matter was that the likelihood of Zacharias finding someone else who made him feel as alive as Katie did was practically nonexistent. She may have no right to ask, but he loved her enough to do it anyway.

"Zach," she asked tentatively, her breath caressing his lips. "Say something."

"Okay," he said quietly before closing the distance and gently kissing her. Zacharias had only mention to brush his lips briefly over hers, but her lips were so soft and smooth beneath his. He pressed closer, stifling a groan as her lips parted beneath his and she arched willingly into him. Though he knew that he should resist temptation for both their sakes, Zacharias cupped her cheek in his hand and settled his lips firmly over hers.

Katie came alive in his arms. Her hands slid boldly up his chest as she traced the outline of his bottom lip with her tongue before sucking it into her mouth. Not to be outdone, he let his hands skim down the length of her body, hesitantly cupping her breast through her heavy pullover. She leaned into his hand but the heavy cotton of her pullover hampered them both. Moaning from the force of the sheer lust coursing through his body, Zacharias slipped his hand under the shirt and stroked his hands up her trembling torso.

Katie tugged him closer, easing back until she lay on the sofa, his heavier body pressing her into the cushions. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wriggling beneath him as she sought to get closer to him. He kissed a path to her ear, his hands pushing up the damnable pullover and fumbling with the clasp of her bra. He'd nibbled a string of kisses down to the throbbing pulse at the base of her neck when he finally managed to free the clasp, his thumb brushing her tight, hard nipple in the process.

"Zach," she cried, her body undulating beneath his. "Please."

Zacharias paused. What were they doing? She wasn't ready for a relationship with him and they'd both just agreed that he wouldn't be her rebound lover. They shouldn't be doing this. With a supreme effort, Zacharias eased off of her.

"Zach?"

He brushed the hair off of her face as he pulled her upright. "We can't do this."

A mutinous expression clouded her features and Zacharias she was going to protest. Then she shook her head and sighed. "I know."

They each took a moment to straighten their clothes and hair, to tamp down the lust that had risen between them so quickly. Finally, they settled back on the sofa, hands primly clasped in their own laps, a foot of space between them.

"Katie."

"Yes?"

"I think it best if don't see each other for awhile."

"But..."

"I can't..." Zacharias sucked in a deep, calming breath before continuing. "I can wait until you're ready, but after this, I can't be around you and not touch you."

She mulled this over before nodding in agreement. "Will we still talk? Floo-call or owl each other or something."

"Of course," he assured her. "I'm not cutting you out of my life. I'm just setting a boundary so we don't cross it again."

Katie nodded and, for the first time since he'd arrived, she looked truly sad. "I suppose you'll be leaving now?"

"It's for the best, I think."

They rose together and gradually made the short journey to the door. Katie cleared her throat. "Well, I...Thank you for stopping by and for the food and the flowers and...Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome." Zacharias reached out to touch her face then gave his head a rueful shake and let his hand drop back to his side. "I should go."

He opened the door and crossed the threshold before looking back at her and smiling. "Good night, Katie Bell."

She smiled back. "See you soon, Zacharias Smith."


End file.
